Friday, July 28, 2006

Here’s finally a shot of the hecklers at the John C. Fremont Days parade.

We can just picture these two guys, sitting on the floor with a new bed sheet…magic markers at the ready…big plate of Smores by their side… working up their latest sign to heckle Ben Nelson about not paying his fair share of taxes (GOP: Nelson protested valuation in '85 – LJS – 7/28/06). Because these are just two good-government guys, and not a couple of Democratic Party sponsored Hooligans, right? Right?

DBthe oreo cookie incident has been debunked by the Maryland media. It never happened. another myth created by the GOP. stop perpetuating the lie. But coming from the campaign that creates fake headlines i ntheir tv ads, its no wonder this is resurfacing.

And Barry apologized for the Tio tomas thing so get over it. Aren't evagelical conservatives like Ricketts into being foriven for your sins? or does the Bible not apply to Democrats?

Steele weighs in on the Oreo incident; Cookies, possibly intended as racial insult, were thrown as he left 2002 debate, he says

The Baltimore Sun November 15, 2005 Tuesday

November 15, 2005 Tuesday FINAL EDITION

SECTION: LOCAL; Pg. 2B

LENGTH: 428 words

HEADLINE: Steele weighs in on the Oreo incident; Cookies, possibly intended as racial insult, were thrown as he left 2002 debate, he says

Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele offered a revised account yesterday of his experience at a 2002 gubernatorial debate where Oreo cookies were reportedly distributed as a racial insult.

Steele told the Associated Press that cookies were thrown in his general direction as he left the debate at Morgan State University, where he was a member of the audience.

"They fell on the floor; two rolled up next to my shoe," Steele said. "I remember turning to someone and saying, `Anyone got a glass of milk?'"

The latest version of the story differs significantly from one offered last week by Paul S. Schurick, communications director for Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., in response to questions about the veracity of the incident. Various versions have been given over the past three years, but some Democrats question whether cookies were actually tossed.

Schurick said supporters of former Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend threw cookies at Steele when he entered the Murphy Fine Arts Building about 15 minutes before the start of the debate. Black on the outside and white inside, Oreos can be viewed as an insult against African-Americans perceived as abandoning their roots and community and aligning themselves with whites.

"It was raining Oreos," Schurick said. "They were thick in the air like locusts. I was there. It was very real. It wasn't subtle."

News reports from the night of the Sept. 26 debate make no mention of cookies. The first reference came five days later in an article in The Sun in which Schurick, then a spokesman for the Ehrlich campaign, said cookies were distributed in the audience.

In November 2002, Capital News Service reported that Steele said an Oreo rolled to his feet during the debate.

The story has received heightened scrutiny in recent days, as Republicans have criticized Democrats for tolerating racial slights against Steele, a candidate for U.S. Senate.

On a Saturday radio program, Ehrlich said he was angry that political opponents were engaging in "revisionism" about the story. He repeated his frustration last night at a fundraiser in Annapolis: "Revisionism is real ugly," Ehrlich said. The governor repeated yesterday that his father was hit in the head with a cookie when he walked to his seat.

Several audience members who attended the debate have told The Sun that they saw no cookies.

"It didn't happen here," said Vander Harris, operations manager of the Morgan fine arts center. "I was in on the cleanup, and we found no cookies or anything else abnormal."

So - the only people who "saw cookies" are the Gov. the Lt Gov. and the gov's spokesperson. veryone else from audience members to school officials to the members of the media present at the time saw nothing. But even beyonfd that, Steel has changed his version of the story repeatedly - one would think every detail of such a jarring experience would be burned into one's memory permanently. But alas, Steele can't keep his own lie straight.

Before you sputter to respond: I knwo this aritcle doesn't definitively say the incident didn't happen - that would be because its impossible to prove a negative - especially one made up by the MD GOP in a fumbling attempt to accuse Democrats of being racists.

If you can figure out which of Steele's stories is the correct version, let me know.

NEpolwatcher (and which pols are you watching?), your story confirms what Steele said, twice. Why are you knocking him? And why don't you use that fancy search engine at your finger-tips to tell us what Barry Rubin's involvement in this was. Were these HIS baked goods? Did he endorse the Oreo rolling?

Yes, that's what I said -- "your story confirms what Steele said, twice." And I never said Rubin was involved. I did ask you to use your Lexis-Nexis account to find out what extent he was involved, and if they were HIS cookies. Try this:"Rubin /p oreo /p cookie /p monster". Let us know what you come up with.

Your reading comprehension is poor. There is a difference between "your story confirms what steele said, twice" which would indicate that the paper twice confirmed the story. and "your story confirms that steele said that twice" which would indicate teh paper reported he made certain statements.

and nexis brings up nothing on "rubin" AND "oreo" AND "steele". it didn't happen. you've been smearing a guy with no evidence. what a surprise from the ricketts' operation.

Steele said the same thing, twice, while you're accusing him of being inconsistent.

But hey, let's be clear: Leavenworth Street has said NOTHING about Rubin and the Oreo incident. That has come completely from independent posters. We've taken no position on this at all. We have no idea whether Barry Rubin threw Oreos at a black candidate or not, or whether he has ever denied it. (And, as stated here 100 times, we're not associated with any candidates or officeholders, parties, etc.) Feel free to get off the topic. Leavenworth Street didn't bring it up.

Bulldog - what dif does it make where it ran in the paper? as for why it came up - Steele brought it up again - himself - to again claim he was a victim of racism. They keep writing about it because steele keeps coming up with new versions of the lie.

but the fact Steele cant keep his story straight is the clincher. Only Steele, his boss erlich, erich's paid henchmen and erlich's dad's head ever indicate this happened.

its kinda like what started all this - the false claim that Ricketts "and his family" were heckled in Fremont. Nobody has ever said they were heckled but Pete and his paid cronies including this blog. Just because its repeated doesn't make it true.

The oreo cookie incident never happened. independent eyewitnesses including the entire MD press corps saw nothing. This is a lie made up by Republicans and considering the track record of the Ricketts campaign will no doubt be repeated here in Nebraska in attempt to smear Barry Rubin.

"As for Ricketts and his family 'not getting heckled'....well, this is you failing to grasp reality. The picture above and various accounts prove it."

Various accounts...hmm...let's see...we've got the account of the Nebraska GOP head, and the account of the pro-Ricketts blogger. Why would anyone have a doubt?

The picture does not prove they were heckling. Heckling involves verbal abuse or disruption. In the picture, I see two men holding a sign. one appears to be waving or pointing. He may or may not be speaking. They are clearly demonstrating, but it is impossible to know from this picture that they were heckling. Do you have any other evidence? You haven't even told us what they were saying.

Slime all you want. But please don't use the word "proof" unless you've actually got some.

I guess if members of your family usually go to parades wearing silly hats, carrying signs poking fun at Senate candidates and generally making asses of themselves, you would not consider what these guys did 'demonstrating'.

You republicans all suck. The people in that picture are my dad and my brother, and they used there freedom of speech just like any good american would. they are fifty times the human beings as any of you complete morons.